Cal Golf: Collin Morikawa Finds Comfort Zone With A Tiger on His Tail

After struggling for two weeks, Morikawa shoots a 68 at the BMW Championship

Photo by Brian Spurlock, USA Today

Playing alongside Tiger Woods, Collin Morikawa finally found a groove at the BMW Championship on Saturday.

Paired with the greatest golfer of the modern era, Morikawa shook off two rough opening rounds and fired a 2-under-par 68. But the 23-year-old former Cal star still resides in a tie for 37th place heading into the final round.

Woods, the one-time Stanford man, had a rougher time of it, shooting a third-round 72 after a triple-bogey 7 on the par-4 17th hole. He’s now 10 over for the tournament and in 55th place.

Morikawa will tee off Sunday at 8:50 a.m. PDT, paired in the final round with Kevin Na. Woods gets started at 7:15 a.m. PST along with Matt Kuchar.

Morikawa began the week ranked fifth in the FedEx Cup standings and faces no danger of slipping out of the top-30, needed to advance to the Tour Championship next week in Atlanta. That serves as the final leg of the FedEx Cup series, which awards a $15 million prize to the season champ.

Tiger Woods and Collin Morikawa share a light moment / Photo by Brian Spurlock, USA Today

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Three weeks removed from winning the season’s only major so far — the PGA Championship — Morikawa has struggled to play at that high level since.

He failed to make the cut a week ago at The Northern Trust in Boston and shot 76 and 73 in the first two rounds here.

He fared much better on Saturday, carding three birdies and just one bogey. Morikawa had 11 bogeys and a double-bogey through the first two rounds. The second-year pro is at 7-over through 54 holes.

Morikawa climbed 21 spots from 58th place after Friday's second round.

Byeong Hun-An, who played at Cal in 2011, also enjoyed his first strong performance at Olympia Fields Country Club, which has challenged the entire 69-player field all week.

An shot a 68 and is tied for 21st place at plus-5.

He entered the week in 35th place in the FedEx Cup standings, so a strong finish Sunday might give him a shot at climbing into the top-30.

Max Homa, the 1993 NCAA champion while at Cal, shot an even-par 70 and is tied for 26th place at plus-6. Homa’s third round included four birdies canceled out by four bogeys.

The co-leaders are FedEx Cup standings leader Dustin Johnson and Hideki Matsuyama, both are 1-under. Both shot 69 on Saturday, and have a two-stroke lead over three golfers tied for third place.

Rory McIlroy is among six golfers three strokes  off the pace.

Justin Thomas, who began the week in second in the FedEx Cup standings, is tied for 43rd place at plus-8. Daniel Berger, fourth in the standings, shot a 69 and sits in a tie for 26th place at 6-over.

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Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo

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